Technique for resolving “no-trouble-found” (NTF) events in electronic systems

A computer-program product for use in conjunction with a computer system, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium and a computer-program mechanism embedded therein for diagnosing a failure in a computer system, the computer-program mechanism including:

• instructions for testing the computer system using a sequence of tests, wherein a given test includes a given load associated with a pre-determined failure mechanism for a given failure condition;
• instructions for obtaining results during the given test, wherein the results include telemetry signals that are monitored within the computer system;
• and
• if the results indicate the given failure condition, instructions for ceasing the testing and indicating that the computer system has the given failure condition, and otherwise instructions for continuing the sequence of tests until the sequence is completed, at which point, if no fault has been detected, instructions for indicating that a no-trouble-found (NTF) condition exists;
• wherein the sequence of tests includes one or more stress tests, and wherein the instructions for testing the computer system include instructions for applying, after the one or more stress tests, one or more sinusoidal perturbations in computer-load or physical variables to the computer system to obtain a dynamic input-output characterization of the computer system in the frequency domain.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a processor;
• memory;
• and
• a program module, wherein the program module is stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the processor, the program module for diagnosing a failure in a computer system, wherein the program module includes:
• instructions for testing the computer system using a sequence of tests, wherein a given test includes a given load that characterizes a pre-determined failure mechanism for a given failure condition;
• instructions for obtaining results during the given test, wherein the results include telemetry signals that are monitored within the computer system;
• and
• if the results indicate the given failure condition, instructions for ceasing the testing and indicating that the computer system has the given failure condition, and otherwise instructions for continuing the sequence of tests until the sequence is completed, at which point, if no fault has been detected instructions for indicating that a no-trouble-found (NTF) condition exists;
• wherein the sequence of tests includes one or more stress tests, and wherein the instructions for testing the computer system include instructions for applying, after the one or more stress tests, one or more sinusoidal perturbations in computer-load or physical variables to the computer system to obtain a dynamic input-output characterization of the computer system in the frequency domain.